US embassy cable - 05WARSAW1522

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 001522 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PL, Polish Elections 
SUBJECT: POLISH PM BELKA AND HIS PARTY AT ODDS 
 
REF: A. WARSAW 1358 
 
     B. WARSAW 1126 
 
Classified By: CDA Cameron Munter.  Reasons: 1.5 (B) and (D). 
 
1. (U) A March 16 meeting between PM Marek Belka and the 
leadership of the governing Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), 
ended with disagreement over Belka's plan to resign this 
spring and the leadership's announced desire for fall 
elections.  Belka stuck to his position that he will resign 
on May 5, when the Polish lower house is set to vote on a 
motion to dissolve the parliament; he wants elections to take 
place in June. 
 
2. (U) SLD leaders had previously stated at a March 12 
meeting that elections should take place at the end of 
September, and that they would not support the May 5 
resolution, meaning that it will fail.  SLD party chairman 
Jozef Oleksy and his rival Krzysztof Janik (who until 
recently supported elections in June), argued that Belka 
should wait to resign until after the Council of Europe 
summit on May 16 in Warsaw so as not to embarrass Poland, but 
Belka refused to budge.  Following the meeting, SLD Deputy 
Chairperson MP Katarzyna Piekarska told the press that the 
relationship between the SLD and Belka's government amounts 
to "a marriage in separation." 
 
3. (SBU) Belka and the SLD leadership reportedly also clashed 
over a replacement for Deputy PM Jerzy Hausner, who submitted 
his resignation on March 8 (Ref A).  Belka has yet to act on 
this matter.  Belka's likely decision to join the fledgling 
Democratic Party (PD) (Ref B), also drew flack from the SLD 
leadership. 
 
4. (SBU) Although Belka seems determined to resign on May 5, 
President Kwasniewski has indicated that he will not accept 
Belka's resignation.  It would appear that Belka would then 
be forced to continue to serve. (NOTE: it is not clear what 
would happen if Belka, in response, refused to work, or as 
one commentator remarked, "went on an extended vacation to 
the Spanish beaches." However, given Belka's ties to 
Kwasniewski and sense of responsibility, this variant is 
unlikely.  END NOTE). A member of the opposition Law and 
Justice (PiS) party told us he expects fall elections unless 
there is some immediate collapse of the SLD. 
 
5. (C) COMMENT. The public airing of the conflict between 
Belka and the SLD leadership is an indication of just how 
fractured the once unified SLD has become.  It has followed 
in the footsteps of its predecessor in power, the once mighty 
Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS), which four years ago 
underwent a similar process of self-immolation.  The only 
issue on which the SLD now seems unified is the September 
election date. 
Munter 
 
 
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 2005WARSAW01522 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL